Chelsea Linked With Roma Duo Dzeko, Palmieri

Blues Linked With £44m Double Swoop

Chelsea are being linked with a move for Roma striker Edin Dzeko. Reports from Italy claim the west London club are prepared to pay as much as €50million (£44.4million) for Dzeko and the Serie A side’s 23-year-old left-back Emerson Palmieri.

The move for Dzeko comes as a puzzle given that he is 31 (he turns 32 in March). The Blues tend to offer just one-year contracts to players over the age of 30. But he is the second player over the age of 30 being linked with Chelsea. Stoke City’s Peter Crouch is also said to be a target.

Dzeko was the top scorer last season with 29 goals in 37 games. He hasn’t quite hit those heights this season with just nine goals so far in 19 games.

Chelsea could use striker Michy Batshuayi as the makeweight in any deal for Dzeko and Palmieri. The Belgium international looks very much to be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. The 20-year-old has marginally more game time in the Premier League this season compared to the 2016-17 campaign. But he has only ever been used sparingly by coach Antonio Conte. He has two goals from two starts and nine appearances off the substitutes’ bench in 263 minutes of football in the Premier League along with four goals in five appearances in domestic cup competitions and two goals in one start and three appearances off the bench in the Champions League.

Batshuayi is being linked with a loan move to Sevilla, but he could be offered to Roma as part of any deal involving Dzeko and Palmieri.

Palmieri moved to Italy in 2015 when he joined Palermo on a season-long loan from Santos in his homeland. He moved to Roma after his loan spell ended in 2016 – also on loan before a permaNent transfer was agreed last summer.

But Palmieri has just 15 minutes of league football under his belt this season and is already being linked with a move away from Roma.